MPs do not know the cost of implementing the law on RTI – Abdallah

General News of Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Source: starrfm.com.gh

2019-03-27

Ben Abdallah, President of Parliament's Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, revealed on Wednesday that the cost of implementing the right to information law was unknown to the parliament, just 24 hours after its adoption. .

Ghana's Parliament on Tuesday pbaded the long-awaited RTI bill.

The bill, which was presented to Parliament last March by the Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Joseph Kpemka Dindiok after the previous legislature, the sixth of the fourth republic was not adopted. Economic Affairs (IEA) more than two decades ago and more than ten years after the executive branch of government drafted the first RTI bill in 2002.

Speaking with Starr News parliamentary correspondent Ibrahim Alhbadan, just one day after the adoption of the bill, Abdallah said the costs badociated with implementing the RTI law were unknown in reason for procedural incidents.

"By law, section 100 of the Financial Administration Act requires that any bill submitted to Parliament be accompanied by a tax impact statement. Unfortunately, this has not been done with respect to the Right to Information Bill. If this were done, Parliament would have known in advance how much it would cost to implement the Right to Information Bill, "he said.

Nevertheless, he welcomed the ability of the seventh parliament of the fourth republic to pbad the RTI bill.

"I feel good, it's as if you were given a mission and you were able to finish it.You feel very relieved.It's like you're carrying a load and this load has you You are very happy, especially when the right to information bill has been repeatedly adjourned.

"It has traveled since 1999 and it is at that time that we started. The bill is referred to Parliament, because when a bill is tabled in Parliament, the Parliament is unable to process it and automatically lapses. This was the trajectory and verified history of the bill.

So, if the bill is finally pbaded, it is good for all of us, good for democracy, good for Ghana and good for Parliament, "he said.

Kwame Karikari, Communications Consultant and Dean of Communication Studies at Wisconsin University College, urged Ghanaians and the media to be the most jubilant when adopting the Right to Know Act. information by Parliament.

He added that as long as the content of the new law has not been studied and accepted to meet the challenges of collecting information in the country, caution should be exercised among stakeholders.

"The RTI bill can either improve access to information or spoil the whole process, so we're interested in the content of the bill. As long as we have not seen, read and studied the content of the law, we can not rejoice and organize a party.